[News Roundup] September 16, 2015

[MissTeeks]

A few articles after the golf tournament yesterday:

Johnson: Surprising Flames enter camp with high expectations

http://calgaryherald.com/sports/hock...the-crosshairs

Last year, they were dodging boulders.
This year, bouquets.
“The rocks,” notes Bob Hartley ruefully, “have been replaced by flowers.”
Rocks may hurt more. But those roses and peonies and chrysanthemums bundled together, he knows, can be every iota as dangerous, as potentially damaging.
“Those flowers, they smell great, eh? They’re pretty. It’s always more fun to get flowers. But you can get caught admiring those flowers.
“When you guys were saying we were lucky to even be in the NHL a year ago we told our guys: Lock out the exterior world.
“This year it’s a different challenge and a tougher challenge. Last year we had to prove we could do it, this year we have to prove we belong.
“So whatever we’re going to read in the paper or see on TV or whatever your neighbour tells you across the backyard fence, smile. Just smile.”
A resigned shrug.
“Rocks or flowers.
“The plan doesn’t change.”

“Nobody’s going to be patting us on the back for last year this December or January. It’s a business you’ve got to prove yourself every day,” says Hartley, 7:30 a.m., having finished his breakfast out at Country Hills Country Club dining room. “Not every year. Every day. What we did last year, we got paid for it. We had fun with it. It was great. We wouldn’t change it for anything. But it’s over.
“Expectations …” He allows the word to drift away, to evaporate in the air.
“From the inside, they don’t change. After we told the world we were rebuilding two years ago, I didn’t come in the room, Brian Burke didn’t come in the room, nobody came into the room and said ‘We’re rebuilding. So it’s OK to be awful.’ You have to constantly push to be better, to be the best you can be.
“The day I wake up without the intention of winning hockey games, of being better, the day I wake up complacent, I’ll just turn over in bed, go back to sleep and stay home.”

“We feel the positive vibes in the city,” acknowledges Hartley. “You can’t go anywhere without people telling you how proud they are of their team. I love this. This is an unbelievable city but it’s not an overly big city so wherever you go, you feel it.
“People make a city. Not the buildings or the weather. The people. And we know these people. They will support us.
“But this is a new year. A different year. We can’t live off what we did last season. It doesn’t guarantee us anything. It doesn’t work that way.”

Flames' Gaudreau excited about sophomore season

http://calgaryherald.com/sports/hock...phomore-season

It is possible — in fact, it’s a guarantee. Johnny Gaudreau will be an even bigger star this season.
By two or three additional pounds.
“Good weight, too — more muscle,” Gaudreau said Tuesday morning before teeing off in the Calgary Flames’ annual charity tournament at Country Hills Golf Club. “It’s exciting to get a little more weight on me.”
Bulking up is never going to be easy for the stringy left-winger, who is listed on the team’s website at five foot nine and 150 pounds.
“It all comes down to how hard you work your own body,” said Gaudreau. “I think I did a really good job this summer.”

Gaudreau also put to bed another college course at Boston College, leaving him four classes shy of his degree, the completion of which would fulfil a promise to his mom Jane.
“I’ll probably take two (courses) next summer and two the following summer,” said Gaudreau, “then be done with it, hopefully.”

Now what will Gaudreau — after 64 points in 80 regular-season games, nine points in 11 post-season games — do for an encore this winter?
At Boston College, after a splendid freshman year, he returned to rattle off 51 points in 35 games. So, no, he doesn’t buy into the sophomore jinx.
“I didn’t have one at school, so hopefully I don’t have one here, but you obviously see players fall into that category — hopefully, it’s not me, you know,” said Gaudreau. “Obviously, it all comes down to the way I play. If I have a bad season, it’s on me.
“For me, it’s just continuing my success from last year, getting better at the little things that I wasn’t so great at last year.”
Not surprisingly, Gaudreau is making no grand pronouncements about nailing down offensive benchmarks.
Publicly, his targets are quite modest.
“Obviously, the first month is (to) get through training camp,” said Gaudreau. “There’s no guarantees here, so you know I want to make the team right out of the gate. Then continue my success into October, November. Then, throughout the season, try to make playoffs. More team-oriented goals rather than individual goals.”

Welcome to Cowtown — sort of — Mr. Michael Frolik

http://www.calgarysun.com/2015/09/16...michael-frolik

Calgary Flames newbie Michael Frolik was recognized by a couple of fans at the mall Monday.
A welcome-to-Cowtown moment?
No, this won’t count.
“I think they were Winnipeg fans,” said Frolik, a 27-year-old right-winger who skated for the Jets last winter before signing a five-year pact with the Flames as an unrestricted free agent.
“I don’t think the Calgary fans know me that much yet. We’ll see about that. Hopefully, I will do a good job, and they will recognize me.”

Calgary Flames' Johnny Hockey excited to deliver in second year

http://www.calgarysun.com/2015/09/16...in-second-year

Of the 400-plus folks on the tee-sheet Tuesday for the Calgary Flames Celebrity Charity Golf Classic, only a handful showed up in shorts.
Johnny Gaudreau was among them.
Brave soul.
“Honestly, I don’t think I own a pair of golfing long pants,” explained Gaudreau, whose bare legs were arguably the hottest topic of conversation on a chilly morning at Country Hills Golf Club.
“So that’s all I can go with right now.”

Two or three pounds will be nothing compared to the weight of added expectations on Gaudreau as he tries to build on what was the most productive campaign by any Flames rookie in the past quarter-century.
The experts at The Sports Forecaster are guesstimating Gaudreau will score 27 times during the 2015-16 campaign. What’s more, they figure he’ll lead the crew from Calgary with 78 points.
The Sportsnet NHL Pool Guide opines that the wee winger “has talent to repeat 60-65 points with ease if he plays a full season.”
And although The Hockey News Yearbook doesn’t include any predictions, it’s safe to say Gaudreau wouldn’t be sharing the regional front cover with Edmonton Oilers superstar-in-the-making Connor McDavid if they weren’t expecting big things.
No pressure, kid.
“For me, it’s just continuing my success from last season and getting better at the little things I wasn’t so great at last year and just try to help the team win as much as I can,” Gaudreau added.
“I think I had a really good off-season this summer, and I think I’m really ready to go for next season.”

[bubbsy]

don't know where to put this, but put a smile on my face.

Steve Cangialosi ‏@CangyManMSG

Sit down interviews with every Devil this morning. Favorite answer thus far from Damon Severson: "Let's be this year's Calgary Flames."

[CroFlames]

Bob is a legend.

Johnny is a beauty.

Sean Monahan is the future.

[Komskies]

I love how Johnny and Monahan have already outscored both Jokinen and Bouwmeester in their playoff careers. Get your sunglasses out, these guys have a bright future.

[BloodFetish]

Rocks and Flowers.

More metaphoric excellence from Hartley.